MUFC_fan / All,
In response to your latest remarks, I must remind you that my posts go out of their way NOT to condemn BA for choosing to concentrate on their LHR hub. If in doubt, re-read what I wrote earlier. They are a PLC; their mandate is to pursue profit in whatever manner they see fit. What I do condemn is the attitude of afew people who vilify customers in the Manchester area for selecting carriers which actually offer the best solution to their particular travel needs. Because BA genuinely DOES have reliability issues with their shuttle connections (I would dearly LOVE to see these resolved), customers' preferred option is frequently not BA via London. These travelers should not be demonized as disloyal or unpatriotic for their entirely logical choices.
Nowhere in my postings do I suggest that I wish anything other than success for companies such as BP, Vodafone and Tesco. Where did this idea spring from? I would actually *like* the banks to be successful too ... sadly, they are not, and we will all pay a heavy price for that for many years to come. What was your point in mentioning this list of large LSE-listed multinationals? Surely you are not suggesting that air travel customers in the regions are going to threaten a FTSE100 titan's viability by flying direct from MAN instead of via LHR? Please tell me that you are not suggesting that my bookings with Jet2 to Rome and Delta to Atlanta will bring BP and Vodafone to their knees?!!! Let's just keep matters in perspective, please.
You also imply that I have suggested "getting rid of the top 10% to Switzerland". I do not use these words anywhere. The point I did make was to remind readers of the sheer scale of losses that reckless banks have lumbered us with. The grandchildren of today's taxpayers will still be suffering the consequences of the banking catastrophe. Any suggestion that the banking industry has been a massive net asset to our nation is now categorically void. My tongue-in-cheek remark about the NHS and education draws a comparison between the perceived high tax cost of maintaining them versus the immense and growing burden of bailing out the banking industry. And don't worry ... there is much more to come. Credit Default Swaps (CDS derivatives) will soon come to be recognized as a far greater problem than MBS's were in 2008. Whole countries need bailing out now due to the extent of their native banking liabilities.
Finally, a brief word of thanks to those who have commented on my postings. Mr ATIS, mickyman, groobs, suzeman, bagso, skipness and anybody else I have missed.
Best to all. SHED.